steves: from granada, it's a two-hour drive over the mountains and down into europe's fun-in-the-sun headquarters, the costa del sol. i find this strip of mediterranean coastline generally overbuilt and very commercialized. malaga, the major city of the coast, is a good place to pass through. and almost anything even resembling a quaint fishing village is long gone, replaced by time-share condos and golf courses. the big draw is the beaches. there are plenty of hotels, and sun worshipers enjoy themselves in spite of the congestion and lack of charm or local culture. nearly every country from europe's drizzly north tucks an expatriate community somewhere along this coast. they don't want to leave their culture, just their weather. my favorite costa del sol stop is the resort town of nerja. while capitalizing on the holiday culture, nerja has retained some of its charm. the church fronts the square, which fronts the beach, and everybody's out strolling, eventually winding up on the proud "balcony of europe" terrace. this bluff, jutting jauntily into the sea, overlooks miles of coastlin